Tag Archives: pilotless

Disney Cruise Lines Is Rumored To Be Buying Jack Sparrow Island For Their Own Caribbean island

With three new ships in the works for Disney Cruise Lines, bringing the fleet up to seven ships, it comes as no surprise that Disney is reportedly looking for a second Caribbean island. Disney Cruise Lines has been expanding its non-Florida itineraries in recent years, adding a number of West Coast and Mediterranean tours, while Asian itineraries have been strongly rumored for some time, but the bread and butter of the award-winning cruise line are its Florida-based cruises. Disney Cruise Lines already owns one private island, Castaway Cay. This island, formerly known as Gorda Cay, just won Best Cruise Line Private Island by Cruise Critic for the second year in a row. Cruise Critic noted that the island is “easy to navigate, offers large swaths of pristine beach and free buffet lunch, as well as dedicated areas for kids and adults.” Some cruise itineraries include two stops at Castaway Cay and things could get crowded when the larger ships visit.

The Next Frontier In Automation: Self-Driving Wheelchairs

The Daily Mail reports Canadian researchers have developed the technology for self-driving wheelchairs. Trials will begin in Tokyo for the self driving wheelchairs to ferry passengers around airports during the 2020 Olympic Games. Autonomous wheel chairs are being tested in a Japan airport for disabled flyers. Using sensors, they can navigate to a gate or shop via a destination input. They can also connect to luggage carts and other wheel chairs for group travel. Air travelers with disabilities will have a much easier time navigating one of Japan’s main airports, thanks to new smart wheel chairs. Haneda Airport outside Tokyo is beginning tests of the WHILL NEXT, an app-controlled self-driving wheel chair that can take users around the airport and even bring their luggage in a separate wireless vehicle behind them. It is hoped the system will be in place, alongside new smart billboards and navigation apps, in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

US Airlines Bump Fewer Passengers After United’s Dragging Incident

Following widespread outrage over a passenger who was violently dragged off an overbooked plane, U.S. airlines are bumping customers at the lowest rate in at least two decades. The Transportation Department said yesterday that just one in every 19,000 passengers was kicked off an overbooked flight in the first six months of this year. That’s the lowest rate since the government started keeping track in 1995. The biggest decline took place between April and June, partly because airlines began paying many more passengers to give up their seats. Airlines have routinely overbooked flights for years in the expectation that some passengers won’t show up. When a flight is overbooked, airlines typically offer travel vouchers to encourage a few passengers to take a later flight. Since then, United and other large U.S. airlines have introduced new measures to reduce overbooking, and raised the maximum amount that passengers can be offered to give up a seat.

New Italian Motorway Links Italy’s Tourist Destinations From Top To Boot Toe

The new A2, the former A3 Salerno-Reggio Calabria Italian motorway, has been renamed to the Autostrada del Mediterraneo (Mediterranean motorway). It is a completely different way of thinking about motorways: not just the infrastructure and a comfortable road, but also a work through which to arrive in so many territories of southern Italy, crossed by its route. The Autostrada A1, or Autostrada del Sole, literally “Sun Motorway” or Autosole, is an Italian motorway that connects Milan with Naples via Bologna, Florence, and Rome. At 754 km, it is the longest Italian motorway and is considered the spinal cord of the country’s road network.

Pilotless Planes Could Save Airlines $35 Billion, UBS Says

CNBC reports a UBS note said “Reducing the intervention of human pilots on aircraft could bring material economic benefits and improve safety.” The bank stated that there could be a material profit opportunity of over $35 billion per year for the aerospace and aviation industry. A recent UBS Evidence Lab Survey of 8,000 people however showed that 54% of participants were reluctant to take a pilotless flight. Pilotless planes could not only be a future method of transport, but an economically-beneficial one too, according to new research by Swiss bank UBS which claims that they could save airlines billions of dollars.